Postman's Park

About Postman's Park

Park in the United Kingdom

Postman's Park is a small, tranquil public garden in the heart of the City of London a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral, bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St Martin's Le Grand, King Edward Street and the site of the former headquarters of the General Post Office, from which it takes its name, as postal workers once spent their lunch breaks here; it is one of the largest open spaces in the City. It opened in 1880 on the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph's Aldersgate and expanded over the next twenty years to take in the burial grounds of Christ Church Greyfriars and St Leonard, Foster Lane, and the site of housing demolished when Little Britain was widened. A shortage of burial space in London meant that bodies were often laid on the ground and covered with soil, which is why the park stands raised above the surrounding streets. Its most famous feature is George Frederic Watts's Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, installed in 1900 to commemorate ordinary people who died saving the lives of others and who might otherwise have been forgotten: a roofed wooden loggia sheltering a long wall of painted ceramic tablets, each telling in a few moving words a story of courage, of children, maidservants and workmen who died rescuing the drowning or victims of fire. Only four of the planned 120 tablets were in place at the opening, nine more were added in Watts's lifetime, his widow and later bodies completed more, and tablets are still occasionally added today. With its trees, small fountain and benches the park is an oasis of calm among the offices, and it became better known after featuring in the 2004 film Closer.

Where:

London, United Kingdom